Say Why To Drugs

Say Why To Drugs

The internet is full of misinformation about recreational drugs - both legal and illegal. Dr Suzi Gage, a psychologist interested in understanding associations between substance use and mental health, tackles one substance per episode - providing information about what we know - the harms, but also potential benefits of these substances. There's no hype, no spin and no judgement, just information. In the first series, she is in conversation with rapper Scroobius Pip. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

Talking with your family about drugs - Live at Latitude 2021

December 8, 2021 • 31 mins

A live episode! In front of a lovely crowd at the awesome Latitude Festival, back in July 2021. Suzi Gage headed to Suffolk and was joined by previous SWTD guest Fiona Spargo-Mabbs. Their discussion covered all aspects of how to talk with your family about drugs - what age should discussions happen? How do teens want these conversations to happen? How honest should parents be about their experience, or lack of it, with drugs?


Fi...

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Spiking - with Dr Lata Gautam

November 24, 2021 • 26 mins

There have been many reports about drink spiking in recent weeks and months. Suzi is joined by Dr Lata Gautam from Anglia Ruskin University to talk about what we mean by drink spiking, what substances are thought to be used, and what a person might experience if their drink is spiked. Lata also describes some of her work exploring what people understand about spiking, and what can be done to try and prevent it from occurring.


ht...

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Maternal Drinking

November 10, 2021 • 44 mins

Say Why to Drugs is back, as Suzi emerges bleary eyed from the first year of being a mum, what better time to talk about alcohol use and motherhood? Well, it's even better than that as it's Baby Week AND alcohol awareness week from 15th November. Suzi is joined by Abi Rose and Leila Goodman to talk about alcohol use in mums, the evidence and our own experiences. Why it might be appealing, what the risks are, why it's hard to do res...

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Drugs and Sex - recorded live at Vault Festival

November 18, 2020 • 46 mins
A live episode recorded earlier in the year in London at Vault Festival, in association with Child.org. Suzi speaks to Alex Aldridge. Alex is a Phd student at Royal Holloway, researching sex, drugs and sexual ethics. The conversation touches on various aspects around drug use during or around sex, including chemsex, issues of consent, and in particular around how women use drugs with sex, an often overlooked area of research.
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Drug regulation - with Transform

November 4, 2020 • 47 mins
In this episode Suzi talks to James Nicholls, the CEO of an organisation called Transform, who are a think-tank working in drug policy reform. The conversation covers what is meant by various different types of drug policy, from regulation to decriminalisation to legalisation, as well as discussing what evidence-based drug policy might look like, both in terms of cannabis and stimulants, both of which have been the subject of publi...

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Alcohol in pregnancy

October 21, 2020 • 49 mins
We're back (briefly)!! In the first episode of a new little run, Suzi speaks to epidemiologists Dr Kate Fleming and Dr Luisa Zuccolo about what we know about the evidence around the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. How do they compare to other things women are advised against doing, like smoking, or eating soft cheese? Why does alcohol seem to be so divisive an issue in pregnancy? We also talk about plans to keep better ...

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The Secret Drug Addict

March 4, 2020 • 60 mins

In this episode Suzi speaks to the Secret Drug Addict - a twitter and instagram user who VICE called 'twitter's most helpful anonymous account'. SDA is incredibly open in this conversation, talking about when he first started using drugs, how they impacted on his life, relationships and work, and what led him to seek help.


He also talks about his work with footballer Neville Southall, promoting good causes and charities on twitt...

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Drug Education - with The DSM Foundation

February 19, 2020 • 46 mins

In this episode Dr Suzi Gage is joined by Fiona Spargo-Mabbs and Sarah Birkett from the DSM Foundation. Fiona and her husband set up the foundation after their son Dan died after taking MDMA. Fiona talks a bit about this, but you can read more on the DSM Foundation's website here http://dsmfoundation.org.uk/dans-story/.


Within this episode, Suzi chats with Fiona and Sarah about the foundation and the work that it does, as well a...

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Say Why To Drugs Book Launch

February 5, 2020 • 41 mins

This episode was recorded live at the Say Why to Drugs book launch at Foyles bookshop, in Bristol, on 24th January 2020. Suzi is in conversation with James Nicholls, the CEO of Transform.


Some links:

My website (for news and events info): https://suzigage.co.uk/events-and-talks/


Amazon link to buy the book (other bookshops are available): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Say-Why-Drugs-Everything-About/dp/1473686229

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Say Why To Drugs - The Book!

January 22, 2020 • 15 mins

Happy book-day to me! Happy book-day to me! Happy birthday to Say Why To Drugs the booook, Happy book-day to me!


Luckily for you I decided against singing that in the intro to this episode, but I'm VERY excited to say that today is the day that Say Why to Drugs the book launches in the UK, and online. It's taken me the last 2 years to write, and so it's such a weird and lovely feeling for it to be finally available for you to re...

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Drugs and Music, live at Smithdown Road festival

July 31, 2019 • 63 mins
Recorded earlier this year at Smithdown Road Festival, a free music festival in South Liverpool, this episode sees Suzi chat to a panel of guests about the links between drug use and music. Dr Sally Adams joins the podcast again, Professor Harry Sumnall from Liverpool John Moores University guests, as well as Chris Torpey, the editor of local magazine Bido Lito and an organiser of Liverpool Psych Fest, and Guy McKnight, the singer ...

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Drugs and Music, with Adam Ficek

July 17, 2019 • 37 mins
Adam Ficek is probably best known as the drummer in Pete Docherty's post-Libertines band Babyshambles. But as well as a very successful music career, he's also a trained psychotherapist, and about to embark on a PhD. Adam and Suzi have a wide-ranging discussion in this episode of Say Why to Drugs, that takes in why Adam wanted to become first a musician, then a psychotherapist, whether musicians might be particularly at risk of dev...

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CBD, with Dr Amir Englund

July 3, 2019 • 38 mins
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a compound found in cannabis. In recent times it's began to be found on our high streets, available in everything from coffee to ice-cream to vape liquid. It's also been touted as a medication to treat a variety of health ailments, from childhood epilepsy to insomnia. In this episode Suzi is joined by researcher Dr Amir Englund from Kings College London to separate myth from evidence around what CBD is, and ...

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Kratom, with Dr Oliver Grundmann

June 19, 2019 • 35 mins
Suzi Gage is joined by researcher Dr Oliver Grundmann, from the University of Florida, to talk about kratom - a leaf from the plant Mitragyna speciosa that grows in SE Asia. Is it an opioid? Or could it be useful in harm reduction? And what do we currently know about it? Find out within.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Mescaline, with Mike Jay

June 5, 2019 • 23 mins
Say Why to Drugs returns! In this episode Suzi chats to author Mike Jay about mescaline, arguably the first psychedelic.Jay details the dual history of the substance - found in two types of cacti in central and south America, as well as being extracted and used in psychiatry in the USA and Europe. Jay has just written a book called Mescaline, and tells us about his research and findings that went in to the book.

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Ask me anything! #2

January 30, 2019 • 25 mins
Researcher Suzi Gage answers a second set of questions that listeners have sent in - topics covered range from discussion of legislation - and how scientists can get involved, favourite research findings (and over-egged ones), and expectation effects.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Ask me anything! #1

January 16, 2019 • 30 mins
Researcher Suzi Gage answers questions that listeners have sent in - topics covered range from whether the podcasts are aimed at teenagers to whether legislation impacts on the ability for scientists to carry out research in to illicit drugs, and from psychedelic therapy to the mushroom Fly Agaric.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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E-Cigarettes - UPDATED, with Professor Linda Bauld

January 2, 2019 • 41 mins
Suzi chats to Professor Linda Bauld from the University of Edinburgh about e-cigarettes and vaping. Linda provides an update on what's changed in the last 2 years since the first E-Cigarettes episode - in terms of who's using them, whether they are helping in smoking quit attempts, and what some of the new products on the market are like. Suzi and Linda also discuss nicotine itself, and the evidence as to whether or not it's harmfu...

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Women and addiction, with Jenny Valentish

December 19, 2018 • 36 mins
Dr Suzi Gage chats to journalist and author Jenny Valentish about her book Woman of Substances. The conversation covers Jenny's own experiences, and how she tackled the scientific literature while researching her book.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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How do drugs affect the brain? LIVE with Dr Carl Roberts

December 5, 2018 • 51 mins
After quite a hiatus, SWTD returns. This live episode was recorded in front of an audience of University of Liverpool Psychology students. Suzi is joined by Dr Carl Roberts to discuss all things about how drugs affect the brain, and how we as researchers investigate this.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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